Casper the Friendly Ghost celebrates the 65th anniversary of the BSA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
He’s the friendliest ghost you know, but could he also be a great given name?
Thanks to Christy for suggesting Casper as our Baby Name of the Day.
Casper is the Dutch and Scandinavian form of an ancient appellation. By tradition, it is the name of one of the three wise men. It probably comes from a Persian or Chaldean word meaning treasurer – appropriate for a dignitary sent bearing gifts to a future king. The name seems to have evolved to Gaspar by the sixth century – and while there’s debate, it appears that the G spelling probably came first.
It’s a well-traveled name: he’s Gaspar, Gaspare, Gaspard in Spanish, Italian, and French. The G became a K in German and Polish – Kaspar, Kacper. (The c makes a ts sound.) He’s Jasper and Jesper in medieval English, though Casper also surfaces in English, too. The various forms seem to have been very popular throughout Europe into the 1700s.
Casper appeared in the US Top 1000 from 1880 through 1933, but he’s been gone ever since.
In the US, Casper has always been eclipsed by Jasper. He’s never left the Top 1000, and as of 2011 was back to #282. We can find Jaspers throughout history: Jasper Tudor was uncle to Henry VII, and became Duke of Bedford. More recently there’s artist Jasper Johns and author Jasper Fforde. Today, Jasper is also a mineral and gemstone, putting him in the company of Ruby and Pearl.
Other notables by the name include:
- Mayan ruler Rabbit 11 ruled in the fifth century, and is sometimes referred to as Casper – because his name glyph looks like the cartoon ghost.
- You might find a listing for Saint Casper, though he was born in Italy in the late 1700s and would have been known as Gaspare.
- Casper, Wyoming takes its name from Casper Collins, a lieutenant at the original fort who was killed in a skirmish with the local Native American tribe.
- The Badrutt family invented the idea of winter tourism in St. Moritz, Switzerland, transforming how wealthy Europeans spent their winter months forevermore. At least one of the family members answered to Caspar.
- Actor Casper Van Dien, Jr. is wearing a family name – one that he’s passed down to his son.
And then there’s the cartoon.
Back in the 1930s, Casper was created for a children’s book, but was sold to Paramount Studio instead and first appeared on screen in 1945. The name would have been fading even then – appropriate for a ghost. He appeared in comics, shorts and cartoons through the 1960s and 70s. A 1995 feature film revived Casper for another generation.
The animated ghost probably took name out of contention for years. But could he make a comeback? In his favor:
- He’s got great nickname potentials – Cas, Cash, Cap
- Ends with r is a huge category for boys – boosting Jasper
- Claudia Schiffer has daughters Clementine and Cosima and son Caspar
- Jason Lee gave the name to a daughter, Casper Alice
In 2012, could Casper shed his animated past to be seen as a lively option for a son?
My main association with this name is (prepare to be blown away) Suppen-Kaspar from Struwwelpeter. You know, the naughty boy who wouldn’t eat his dinner and so got thinner and thinner?
I have a 12 year old called Caspar- and he tells me that the “friendly ghost” connection has never been an issue. We live in Australia and he has attended 4 different schools, has not been teased about it yet.
i love his name, there are many “Jaspers” out there, but we have never met another Caspar. His brother is “Otto”- and I adore this name also…
An observation on the racial connotations – I think it’s interesting that in some places the name has apparently taken on an association with “whiteness” (thanks to the cartoon) given that Caspar of the Three Wise Men is sometimes depicted as a dark-skinned man. Also, on Nameberry, “Caspar” appears in a list of “Early African-American Names” (http://nameberry.com/list/383/Early-African-American-Names), apparently because it was among the names “not normally used for whites” that slave-owners gave to some of their slaves. While I think it’s valid to take into account current associations with certain names, I think these observations show that name associations are also quite malleable.
Malleable is just the word – and sometimes they can change in a matter of years. I do think Casper has become more and more wearable.
I love this name! As well as the alternate spellings Kasper and Caspar, though I think I would go with Casper. As previous commenters have said, the association with the ghost is likely generational. The last big Casper the Friendly Ghost release was almost 20 years ago, so most children now won’t even know about it. I mean, most 19 and 20 year-olds I’ve talked to don’t know who Kelly Kapowski is, and Saved By the Bell was on the air only a year or so before they were born, not more than 20, AND there are reruns on a regular basis. I love Louis C.K.’s take on kids making fun of names (warning: contains a “curse” word): http://youtu.be/WNSf-KQORRk?t=1m16s
And as for the comments about slurs, I think most here have never heard it/don’t recognize it as a racial slur because in order for something to be a slur, the group that is being targeted has to care. Same with snowflake, felix??, or whatever else comes up. If they have no effect on those targeted, they are only perceived as slurs by those who use them. Not really an effective tactic for bringing someone down.
My name is Winter. I’m a very pale girl, and nobody EVER used the name in the way of a slur. I often joked that I was pale as snow white or a ghost and people didn’t see the connection or even the connection to my name. I lived in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. I have also traveled all of the US and had not ever ran into any slurs with my name or even the type of slur you mentioned. I had heard of cracker and most recently chocolate chip. The later was the parents choice because the father was black and mother white. I think for the most part, majority of the world wouldn’t associate it with a slur or are familiar with gang or slum area terminology…unless it hits the major news networks.
I named my son (born August 2013) Casper. Fortunately, I’m single, as I don’t think I would have been able to convince a wife to go along based on some of the pushback I got from my family, but since he’s been born, I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments on it. I’ll admit that the first thing I thought of was not the ghost, but Caspar Weinburger because I’m a politics junkie, but I don’t see that he’ll get teased a whole bunch over it. I gave him a common middle name (Jack) as a fallback and I call him ‘Cap’ just as often as ‘Casper’. I’m actually happy with it staying a well known but rare name. I disqualified any name on the top 100 list from consideration.
There…not they’re.!! Can’t believe I didn’t catch that!
I’ve found as both a mother and a teacher that if kids are determined to pick on another kid they’re will always be a way. A name as common and strong as John could be flipped to mean toilet and a name as unique as Seymour can be flipped into “I wanna Seymour of him” instead of the usual “Seymour butts) True story- prom king of the class ahead of me in NY was Seymour.
Not to mention why is George a green light (a furry little trouble making monkey) and Casper- a friendly ghost seen as doomed! I think it’s a great name and is very much on the top of my list. And although I’d love to extend it to Caspian, hubs keeps giving me the “don’t push it I gave approval on Casper” look lol.
Finally, I’m not even sure if I’ve even seen the cartoon! At 28 my brain goes to Casper from the movie Kids rather than Casper the ghost.
My baby boy born May 2012 is called Caspar he is sweet and adorable. We didn’t give a monkeys what everyone else would think of his name and actually everybody loves it! He was christened on 6th January this year which was the day of the epiphany, he’s my little wise man. I also named my new business venture ‘Little Ghost’ after him so no issues at all with the friendly ghost, he loves it when we sing ‘Caspar the friendly boy’ to him x
Great name, Becky and happy (almost) first birthday to Caspar!
So nice to see Becky’s post, and congratulations on her son’s First Birthday. “Caspar” is high on our list for our son due this July/August, with middle name “Louis.” If Oscar can make such a strong comeback notwithstanding “Oscar the Grouch” associations, why can’t Caspar? It’s a lovely name, and particularly appealing because it is not so popular in the U.S., yet seems to cross many cultures and time periods.
I love the name Casper! Ghost or no ghost 🙂
I think Casper is great but I prefer the Caspar spelling. I’ve often dreamt of having three boys named Melchoir, Caspar, and Balthazar (the three wise men).
I love Casper!
I’ll say that he’s almost there. Personally, I prefer Caspian, Caius, and Castiel.
I love it, but for me it has to be with two “a’s”. Caspar!
Casper is one of my favorite ends in -er names for boys. I would use it in a heartbeat. I definitely think Casper is wearable and ready to break out from the friendly ghost persona.
<3
I love the name Casper. Yes, I think of the friendly ghost, but I think it’s generational. It’s a fun, sweet name. It feels a little more Christmas-y to me than Halloween though.
Nope. Sorry. Casper to me is a racial slur, that’s how it was used where I grew up. And probably not helping its comeback, at least in some American cities. I could not send a Casper to middle-school.
Jasper’s nice though.
How is Casper a racial slur? Sorry this is one I’ve never heard before I really like the name but now Im curious how it could be a racial thing.
Like Snowflake? “what the hell are you looking at, Casper?” etc. It’s in pretty wide use. I think it would be very awkward for a white OR black child where I grew up. Derived from the ghost, but a lot more loaded than Felix or whatever.
I don’t know … I take your point that Casper could be used that way, but I wonder if it would be today. Or if it would be used enough to make it a concern … I tend to think that “your kid will be teased if you name him …” is the kind of phrase that can be applied to any name. It reminds me of the Nicolas Cage skit on Saturday Night Live. http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/baby-names/1354910/
Yeah, I don’t believe that you have to stick to Top 50 names because everything weird is bad, but naming a kid a slur that’s in active use seems beyond just “that’s a name no one will know how to spell.” And at least in my hometown, its still in active use.
I’d have to put it in the box with Gay and Fagele and Jemima. Though, like Jemima and Fagele, it’s probably on the more regional end of the scale, depending on local demographics more than just “English speaking.” Jemima’s a non-issue outside the US, Casper might be the same.
I’m from the southeastern US and I can’t remember a single time I’ve heard anyone use Casper as a slur. I could see it being used as a slang term, similar to Ginger, but I don’t think that would dissuade me from using the name.
I think if a kid was named Casper and someone did use it in a racial way i.e. “What are you looking at, Casper?” I think that if it were actually the kids name and he replied, “Yea, so what my name is Casper?” it actually takes the power away from it being a derogatory term.
Huh? Casper, Snowlake and Felix are racial slurs? Never heard such a thing.
I’ve lived in Connecticut, Nebraska, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina and I have never heard Casper used as a racial slur